The Japan Times - North Korea conducts test of nuclear-capable rocket launchers

The test comes after South Korean and US forces kicked off their springtime military drills, due to run until March 19.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the testing on Saturday of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

It said the test involved 12 600mm-calibre ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies.

Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang's enemies, within the 420 kilometres (around 260 miles) striking range, a sense of "uneasiness" and "a deep understanding of the destructive power of tactical nuclear weapon", KCNA reported.

The rockets battered an island target in the East Sea of Korea more than 360 km away, KCNA said on Sunday.

Kim praised the MRLS as a "very deadly yet attractive weapon".

Photos released by state media showed several rockets blasting off large vehicles into the air.

Another picture shows Kim and his daughter Ju Ae watching the launch from afar, flanked by a military official.

Ju Ae has long been seen as next in line to rule the country, a perception stoked by a string of recent high-profile outings.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it had detected multiple launches on Saturday from the North into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

Seoul's presidential Blue House condemned the launches as a "provocation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions" and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop such acts.

The launches came hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said that US President Donald Trump thinks a meeting with Pyongyang's Kim would be "good".

The Trump administration has pushed in recent months to revive high-level talks with Pyongyang, eyeing a possible summit with Kim this year, potentially during Trump's visit to Beijing set for late March.

After largely ignoring these overtures, Kim said recently that the two nations could "get along" if Washington accepted Pyongyang's nuclear status.

- Joint drills -

The US and South Korea's springtime military drills, dubbed "Freedom Shield", will involve about 18,000 Korean troops and run until March 19.

Kim's comment on the rockets suggested it was in response to the ongoing exercise, Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.

"The launch pattern... is closely synchronised with the schedule" of the joint drills, he said.

"This suggests the weapons system is being operated as a means of nuclear deterrence and practical demonstration" against the alliance.

This week, Kim Yo Jong, a powerful confidante of her brother Kim Jong Un, said the joint drills "may cause unimaginably terrible consequences".

She went on to say the drills were taking place at "a critical time when global security structure is collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world".

Pyongyang has condemned the US-Israeli attack on Iran as an "illegal act of aggression", claiming it shows the "rogue" nature of the United States.

North Korea also recently carried out missile tests from the naval Choe Hyon destroyer, claiming the country was in the process of "arming the Navy with nuclear weapons".

S.Yamamoto--JT